NYC Half Marathon Prize Purse $100K-Largest in US

NYC
Half-Marathon to Offer $100,000, Richest Half-Marathon Prize Purse in the
United States

ChampionsÛª
checks of $20,000 announced

New
spring date set for Sunday, March 21

New
York, January 12, 2010ÛÓThe
largest half-marathon prize purse in the United StatesÛÓ$100,000ÛÓand a new
spring date of Sunday, March 21, for the fifth annual NYC Half-Marathon were
announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg. The
menÛªs and womenÛªs champions will each earn $20,000, the largest first-prize checks
for a non-marathon race in the country.

ÛÏThe aim
has always been for the NYC Half-Marathon to serve as a counterpart to the ING
New York City Marathon and for New York to host the two greatest road races in
the world,Û said Wittenberg. ÛÏThis move to the spring and increase in prize
money are important next steps in that directionÛ.

A
sold-out field of about 10,000 finishers is expected for the first-ever spring
edition of the popular 13.1-mile race. The previous four editions have been held
in July and August.

NYC
Half-Marathon continues to attract leading professional athletes and
recreational runners from around the world. In 2009, more than 19,000 people
applied to run the race, and more than 10,000 finished.

On a
course designed to celebrate New York City, the NYC Half-Marathon will take
runners on a loop through Central Park, down Seventh Avenue through Times
Square, across 42nd Street, and along the expansive West Side Highway to
Battery Park in the heart of the city’s financial district, finishing with a
view of the Statue of Liberty.

The
online lottery application for the NYC Half-Marathon is now closed. Runners who
wish to receive guaranteed entry by running for charity or with an official
travel party can still do so.

New
York Road Runners

New York
Road Runners, founded in 1958, is dedicated to promoting the sport of distance
running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and responding to community
needs. Our road races and other fitness programs draw upwards of 300,000 runners
annually, and together with our magazine and website support and promote
professional and recreational running. A staff of more than 100, assisted by
thousands of volunteers, stages the ING New York City Marathon, as well as a
road race nearly every weekend plus many track and cross country events. NYRRÛªs
home base in New York, and its lifelong identification with Central Park, have
given many of its events iconic status, attracting the worldÛªs top professional
runners. Our youth programs provide running to nearly 100,000
schoolchildren in New York City, around the country, and in South Africa who
would otherwise have few or no fitness opportunities.For more
information, visit www.nyrr.org.